Dust storm, heavy rains cool Delhi; Saturday could be rainy too

A tree branch falls on a car near Gymkhana Club after a storm accompanied by dark clouds in New Delhi. (PTI photo)

A view of traffic jam near Central Secretariat Metro Station after a heavy storm in New Delhi. (PTI photo)

An uprooted tree after a storm accompanied by dark clouds in New Delhi. (PTI photo)

People look on as a tree branch fell on a car outside Gymkhana club after a storm accompanied by dark clouds in New Delhi. (PTI ...

Massive dust storm with rain hit the capital as seen at Connaught Place area in New Delhi. (Photo by Saumya Khandelwal/ Hindustan Times)

People cover themselves with polythene sheets during a duststorm that hit New Delhi. (Photo by Saumya Khandelwal/ Hindustan Times)

Massive dust storm with rain hit the capital as seen at Connaught Place area in New Delhi. (Photo by Saumya Khandelwal/ Hindustan Times)

Entry to the metro stations was temporarily stopped because of excessive traffic after the dustorm in New Delhi. (Photo by Saumya Khandelwal/ Hindustan Times)

Vehicles parked in organized manner at Connaught Place inner circle in New Delhi. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

Vehicles move with their headlights on at 5 pm at Connaught Place inner circle in New Delhi, which was hit by a massive duststorm. (Photo by ...

Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds late on Friday afternoon brought welcome relief from soaring temperatures to Delhiites but disrupted Delhi Metro services and power supply in some areas. The Met has forecast a cloudy on Saturday, with possibility of rain.

Delhi witnessed the hottest day of the season earlier in the day with the maximum temperature recorded at 43.7 degrees Celsius -- though two notches below the season's average. The rain appreciably brought down the temperature much to the relief of residents.

The sudden change in weather followed a massive storm that darkened the sky in the late afternoon with strong winds felling trees and forcing office-goers on their way home to run for shelter.

"It was one of the worst storms I have ever seen. Suddenly everything turned dark," student Saratha Sonowal, who was stranded on the Moolchand flyover in south Delhi, said.

"The storm was so strong that it caused a pillar to fall on a parked car," said journalist Ranjana Narayan.

Delhi Metro services were hit on two of its busiest lines: Yellow line from Jahangirpuri in Delhi to HUDA city centre in Gurgaon and Blue line from Dwarka Sector 21 to Noida City Centre/Vaishali.

Lightning strikes during an evening thunderstorm in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT photo)

Passengers tweeted that they were asked to de-board from the trains at some stations after technical faults caused by the storm hit the services hard on both these lines, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded.

Power supply was also affected.

"In many places, trees fell on the electrical wires, which caused a power cut in the areas," a source from the BSES told IANS.

However, the skies cleared later on.

The weather office held out hope of better weather Saturday too.

"The skies will remain clear in the morning but will turn cloudy noon onwards. Some parts of the city may receive rainfall," an official of the India Meteorological Department told IANS. The temperatures are likely to hover around 42 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature Friday was recorded at 29.1 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.

People run to take shelter near Connaught Place as a massive dust storm and rains strike in New Delhi. (Saumya Khandelwal/HT photo)